Solebury School Magazine - Fall/Winter 2012

Fall/Winter 2013

Solebury SchoolMagazine

Solebury SchoolMagazine

www.solebury.org

Fall/Winter 2013

2 ❖ Solebury School Magazine Fall/Winter 2013

Focus on Faculty 4

Campus Highlights 6

Global Learning 14

Spotlight on Alumni 18

Alma 20

Cover and Inside Cover Photos by Nicole Mount

In this issue of Solebury School’s AlumniMagazine, readers will be updated on the recentadministrative changes at the school, as well asall the latest technological updates to theclassrooms, the new Music Center, Theater andPerforming Arts Center that have transformedthe Solebury campus to a state-of-the-artlearning facility in every way. Learn more aboutthe good work our students are doing inTeach2Serve and read about the InternationalStudies and Service Learning program.

Readers will meet Harrie Lewis ’35 as he takesus back to Solebury’s very beginnings and hisschool years, when he rubbed elbows with theschool’s founders.

What’s Inside Fall/Winter 2013

www.solebury.org

A Note fromTom Wilschutz–Head of School

It was Friday evening, about 8 o’clockon the final day of final exams thatconclude the winter trimester. The dayand boarding students were well ontheir way home for the muchanticipated two-week spring break. Ithad snowed throughout the day, but afull moon was out and there was aneerie silence on campus. No one wasvisible, yet lights burned inside officesand apartments. Individual facultymembers were huddled, in whateverspaces could provide them the greatestcomfort and inspiration as they facedthe mountain ahead of them – gradingtheir finals, determining the final grades for thetrimester and authoring their comments – all required tobe completed by 8:00 a.m. Monday morning.

I was walking from our house back to the office as Inoticed the lights blazing in Kristy’s apartment, inSarah’s and in Shawn’s. As I rounded the corner I sawDiane Downs, alone in her classroom in the CarriageHouse, head bowed…reading, thinking, grading. Istopped in to say hi, and to say thanks. She had somesoft music on as she tried to capture 10 weeks of effort,and toil, excitement and drudgery and quantify that intoa grade and a comment for her students.

In that moment I thought about a conversation I hadwith one of our veteran math teachers earlier that day.We were talking about our tuition rates and how wecompared with some of our closest competitors, all ofwhom are quite a bit wealthier than Solebury. Thisteacher was worried that, though our tuition rates werecomparable, our physical plant paled in comparison tosome of our closest competitors and wasn’t I worriedthat the contrast was so stark that it would surelydisadvantage us? I smiled and said no, that I was not inthe least bit worried. I suggested that I have been atSolebury long enough to know exactly for what ourparents were paying, and I was confident we weredelivering on our promise.

Somewhat puzzled, the faculty member asked whatthat promise was, as we scanned the 18th centurystructures we call home – the classrooms and offices ofSolebury School. The answer to me was so obvious andI was somewhat astonished that it was not obvious to my

colleague, but I offer that life lived in thetrenches often obscures the view of theforest for the trees.

I responded that what we offer, thevalue we add for the tuition dollarsis…you, you and your colleagues whoteach. You inspire, you befriend, younudge, you dazzle, you motivate, youhone their skills, and you create themagical environment here daily. Soleburystudents simply cannot wait to come toschool. Walking on campus on theweekends, week nights, summer days,spring break, holidays and winterweekends, there are current and former

students just hanging out. This corner of Phillips Milland School Lane was and is a place that makes adifference, changes lives, and inspires dreams. On anygiven day, you can see the magic unfold in theclassroom. Just as much of that magic is conjured in thequiet spaces where teachers labor in solitude, often lateinto night, to think, to read, to grade and authorfeedback, looking always for the key that will unlock thepotential, ignite the passion, spark the imagination.

If you’re reading these words, chances are you haveseen the magic that is visible – you were a Soleburystudent inspired by our faculty; or a faculty or staffmember yourself. You’re a current or past Soleburyparent who relishes memories of a son or daughter whobounded into your home with tales of magical momentsthat happened in class that day; you’re the grandparentwho smiles inwardly at the help you have been able toprovide a son or daughter such that they can make thedream of a Solebury education possible for yourgrandchild; or a friend of the School who understandsthe power of a truly transformative education forstudents.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the Solebury Schoolmagazine. We’ve shared the fruits of many quiet labors -our progress with technology, on campus nutrition, ourapproach to providing guidance for our students andteaching them how to make good choices for life. I lookforward to seeing many of you in early May at reunionweekend and our annual auction.

Until then, Tom ❖


Steve Buteux has been promoted to Assistant Head ofSchool. The position has not been filled since formerAssistant Head of School, Geoff Tilden, retired in2007. As Assistant Head of School, Steve will assistTom in leading the operations of Solebury,concentrating on special projects. He will also workextensively with Steve Benoit to help with his transitionto Director of Studies. Steve also runs the Moodlesoftware for the faculty. (More about Moodle on page 11.)

Steve began his career at Solebury School in 1991.In the classroom, he’s taught English and history, and atone point served as the Head of the Englishdepartment. In addition, Steve’s been active outside theclassroom, coaching both soccer and baseball, as well asbeing a dorm parent, computer assistant to the Directorof Technology, and one time co-director of the SummerEnglish as a Second Language program. For the pastdecade, Steve has been the school’s Director of Studies.

In addition to his duties as Assistant Head, Stevecontinues to teach the History section of an HonorsAmerican Studies course, known around campus as oneof the toughest courses in the curriculum.

Before coming to Solebury, Steve taught for a year atthe Williston Northampton School in Massachusetts.Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with aminor in History, from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY.

Steve lives on campus with his wife Alyssa and theirdaughter Eliot (3 1/2). The couple met at Solebury in1991 when Steve first began teaching here. Alyssa’smother, Betty Coulter, is a former bookkeeper atSolebury and lived on campus with her husband, JimCoulter, then the Dean of Students and AthleticDirector. Alyssa had moved in with them whilefinishing her undergraduate degree at Rutgers, andduring that time, worked at the front desk andbookstore. Once she earned her degree, she and Stevemarried. She taught English, Ethics and Art History atSolebury from 1995 – 1998. ❖

Steve Buteux

Focus on FacultySolebury School Announces New Administrative Appointments

On July 1, 2012, Solebury School welcomed new Director of Advancement, Jennifer Burns. Steve Buteux waspromoted to Assistant Head of School, and Steve Benoit was promoted to Director of Studies – we wish them wellin their new positions.

www.solebury.org

Steve Benoit Steve Benoit has been promoted to the school’s Director ofStudies position, replacing Steve Buteux. As Director of Studies,Steve oversees the academic program, working with teachers,department heads, students and parents as they navigate the courseselection process. He makes sure students are making goodacademic choices so they are challenged here at Solebury and areultimately prepared for college.

Steve began his career at Solebury School in 1998 as a Frenchteacher and since then has taken on much more responsibility inaddition to teaching four French classes each trimester. Stevebecame the Head of the Foreign Language department in 2001,and has chaired the Academic Committee since 2002. For the pastseven years, Steve has been the school’s Diversity Coordinator,helping support groups and programs that celebrate the diversity at Solebury. He has been the Director of Student Advising since 2008.

Before coming to Solebury, Steve taught French at Saint David’sSchool in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Language, witha minor in Communications from Pennsylvania State University,and a Master of Arts degree in French Literature from theUniversity of Texas at Austin.

Steve lives in Northern New Jersey with his partner, MikeHouston. Mike is the Head of Foreign Language at the Montclair-Kimberley Academy. ❖

Jennifer Burns Jennifer Burns has joined Solebury as the Director ofAdvancement, replacing Peter Pearson, who retired in June, 2012.

As Director of Advancement, Jenn focuses on advancing theschool’s mission by developing revenue streams in addition totuition, primarily through fundraising. Working closely with theHead of School and the Board of Trustees, Jenn develops andimplements plans that meet the school’s financial objectives andsustains positive relationships with the various constituenciescritical to a thriving independent school.

Jenn brings nearly 20 years of non-profit experience to SoleburySchool. Her career has been focused on people, involved witheducation, the environment, cultural relations as well as theAmerican political process. For more than 15 years, she has focusedon developing revenue for important organizations, workingclosely with individuals, corporations and foundations to make alasting impact through philanthropy.

“One of my favorite things to do is to find that synergy betweena really great idea that will allow an organization to leap forwardand identifying the resources it needs to blossom,” said Jenn. “I’mthrilled to work with such passionate friends and families here atSolebury.”

Jenn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from College of the HolyCross in Worcester, MA in Political Science. She and her threechildren, Jason (11), Brian (8) and Maggie (6), moved back “home”to Yardley, PA after recently spending more than 10 years inWilmington, Delaware. ❖


In October, alumni, friends andfans of Solebury’s music programcame to campus to officially openThe Music Center. It was acelebration of this beautifullytransformed space, formerly amaintenance building. Moreimportantly, it was a celebration ofthe more than 100 supporters thatmade it all possible. Because of thissupport, the school benefited fromthe creative ideas of the architecturalfirm, Towers Miller, the skills ofSolebury’s talented buildings andmaintenance staff, and the more than20 contractors involved in therenovation work, many of whom havea long history with Solebury.

Our students have quickly made the Music Center theirown.

“The new Music Center at Solebury School has becomethe heart of the music program on campus,” said PhyllisArnold, Solebury’s Chorus Director.

The Music Center now provides practice and rehearsalspace for the instrumental portion of our growing musicprogram. Its 2,000 square feet includes two large studios.Studio B houses the music program’s orchestral ensemble.Large south and east facing windows, a mirrored northwall, and a high ceiling give the room an especially spaciousand light ambiance. Studio A is dedicated to the jazzensemble. It has a northern wall of glass that allows indirectlight to create a much cooler venue, and the room iscarpeted and otherwise tuned to create the right acousticalsetting for jazz instruments. Both rooms have been built toenhance acoustical separation, and a locked, climate

controlled storage room for instruments is located inbetween the two spaces to further reduce any soundmigration. Across the main hall are three smaller practicerooms for one, two and three person rehearsals. EachStudio and practice room has either a piano or keyboard.

“I’ve always felt that music was an important part of somany of our students’ school experience and for some itwas the best part of their day,” said Erika Bonner, ArtDepartment Head. “The strength of our program hasalways been the expertise of the music faculty, and nowthey have a permanent home. The quality of these musicclassrooms now reflects the unparalleled quality of ourprogram.”

The new Music Center houses a strong andcomprehensive program. Music teachers Phyllis Arnold,Cathy Block, Greg Lipscomb, and Noah Jarrett offercourses that include Chorus, Universal Music Ensemble, JazzRoots Ensemble, and Rock Band. Additionally, the departmentoffers some very current, unique and cutting edge music

Melodies and Harmonies in theNew Music Center

“This music center is a dream come true for Solebury. As a professional musician, I am thrilled to see it come to fruition. I first startedattending Solebury 27 years ago, and it holds a special place in my heart. I am deeply touched that the students of today will have a MusicCenter to benefit from after all these years. This only adds so much to the unique, special place that Solebury School continues to be.”

Elizabeth Pitcairn ’91, Violin Virtuoso

The New Music Center has become a favorite place for our young singers and musicians.

Campus Highlights

electives: Song Writing, Music: That Universal Language (thisis a unique approach to rhythm and harmony), Indie MusicAnd How It Is Reshaping The Music World, Music of the 1960s,The Greatest Bands Of All Time, and Gamelan. TheIntroduction to the Arts course for middle school studentsincludes a semester of music theory and performance.Private music lessons on campus are also offered to ourstudents.

The Center was built with the environment in mind,making good use of an existing building that previouslyhoused the school’s maintenance department, and includes awhite roof, excellent insulation, a highly efficient HVACsystem, occupancy sensor controls for lighting, and “ondemand” hot water equipment. The HVAC system providesheating and cooling on demand, and the instrument storagearea has virtually no exterior walls so its temperature can bemaintained with minimalenergy use. Camerasecurity protects theinstrument storage andboth entrances around-the-clock, seven days a week.

Each classroom has acustom designed audiosupport system whichprovides P.A. monitoringand multi-source audioplayback. There is anintegrated audio recorderto allow for spontaneousrecording of rehearsalsand lessons for review andcritique.

The building has anintegrated audio tie-linesystem for multi-channelrecording and

communication. Each practice room and classroom connectsto every other room in the facility, allowing for uncommonversatility and convenience while maintaining a high level ofacoustic isolation.

The Music Center is located near the Performing ArtsCenter (PAC) and has full ADA access for handicappedvisitors. It is now easier and more convenient to transportequipment and instruments when formal performances arescheduled. For the future, land west of the building remainsavailable for an anticipated expansion to accommodatefuture growth of the program. ❖

________________________________“You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then, youpractice, practice, practice. And then, when youfinally get up there on the bandstand, forget allthat and just wail.”

– Charlie Parker (1940s jazz musician)

Shared with admiration by Lonny Laurenti, pianist________________________________

Alumnae Annsi Stephano ’58 and Mira Nakashima ’59.

Studio A.

www.solebury.org


Many people might believe that theOffice of the Dean of Students is onlyabout discipline, but that is only half thestory. Dean of Students Annette Millerand Assistant Dean Bill Christy do somuch more than that. Every day, theyhandle numerous and diverse issues andare ever present during the school day.Whether it is engaging in a friendlyconversation with a student, counseling astudent in need, or talking a studentthrough a peer situation, the Deansmaintain a strong presence and positiveinfluence on campus.

Annette described the Dean’s office asa place where students learn to build ontheir knowledge of boundaries, and sheand Bill are coaching them on a dailybasis.

“When a student does get into trouble,in most cases, they’re glad they wentthrough a disciplinary experience atSolebury because it helped them tobetter understand themselves,” saidAnnette. “It also teaches them how tomake better decisions later in life.”

Annette likened behavior modificationto any other lesson a student might learnin school.

“Just as students learn to navigate mathand English, they also need to learn howto navigate the course when they make awrong decision. Bill and I are there tohelp them learn how to talk to theirparents and why it’s important to talk toparents about a mistake or a poordecision. Then, they need to workthrough the disciplinary process ofmeeting with the Deans and meetingwith the Head of School.”

Her role expands to her work with theschool’s Peer Leading group, olderstudents who volunteer to work with newstudents to make the transition to highschool as comfortable as possible. Peerleaders engage their youngercounterparts in conversations aboutfamily, gender, school, peer pressure, anddecision making.

Annette graduated from DelawareValley College in 1981 with Bachelor’sdegree in Animal Husbandry. Beforecoming to Solebury School in 1996,Annette served as dorm head and coachat George School for nine years. AtSolebury, she has taken on many rolesover the years, including Head ofResidential Life, Director of Activitiesand sports coach. She has chairedcommittees such as Sexuality Committee,the Weekend Duty Community, and shewill now lead the committee to reviewthe disciplinary rules in the StudentHandbook, a document that needs someupdating given the challenges in theworld today.

Annette lives on campus with herhusband Irv and their dog, Zeus. Irvserved as the assistant athletic directorand wrestling coach at George Schoolfor 13 years. He moved to New Hope-Solebury High School in 1996 where hecontinues as wrestling coach and worksin other various positions. Irv was

instrumental in restarting the wrestlingteam here at Solebury after the schoolwent at least 20 years without a team. ❖

When people on campus hear the loudengine hum of the big red four wheelerclose by, they know that Bill Christy, theAssistant Dean of Students, is keeping awatchful eye over the Solebury campus.

“In public school, students are afraid ofthe principal or school disciplinarian,”said Bill. “Here, because we are able tospend so much more time with ourstudents, they learn that we aresupporting them. We create a safe andproductive learning environment. Moststudents know the right thing to do. Youjust have to provide the rightenvironment for them to shine.”

Bill came to Solebury School in 1997and has worn many hats since. He hasbeen the Head of the Foreign Languagedepartment and has taught as many asfour Spanish classes a trimester, fromintroductory classes to the advancedSpanish curriculum.

Bill has lived on campus his entiretenure at Solebury School, now living inone of the faculty houses with his wifeAlina and his daughter Gabby (7). Hemet Alina in Mexico during a springbreak trip in 1999. They married insummer 2000. Alina returned with Billand taught Spanish at Solebury for fiveyears. She also taught Spanish classes atBucks County Community College, andcurrently tutors Spanish students atnight. Bill currently serves as theAssistant Dean of Students, runs theJudiciary Committee, enforcesattendance and detention, teachesHonors Spanish IV and V, organizes daystudent transportation, and is on call as asubstitute van driver. Bill is also currentlyattending classes to earn a Master’sdegree in Clinical Psychology. ❖

The Dean’s OfficeIt’s Not Just About the Discipline

Annette Miller

Bill Christy

www.solebury.org

The Food Experience at Solebury

Above: Meet our dining hall staff (from left):Joe Kienzle, Carmen DiFoggio, and PabloNaughton

Right: When his day is done, Anthony Porterperforms with the school’s student Rock Bandand is the lead singer for his band, ClashingPlaid. He also works with the wrestling team.

When you walk into SoleburySchool’s Herbert S. Boyd Dining Hall,you are met with a smile and a kindword from Anthony Porter, who isthere to make sure the dining hall isalways clean and properly stocked. Inthe kitchen, you will find CarmenDiFoggio, Joe Kienzle, or PabloNaughton, three dedicated chefs whobring more than 60 years of combinedexperience in the culinary arts. Theyare warm and friendly, making ourstudents feel comfortable asking forspecial food requests or just chattingabout their day.

Public and private schoolsnationwide have taken a closer look atthe food services that they offer theirstudents. Not only are schoolschallenged with offering healthier foodchoices, as well as vegetarian andomnivore options, they are challengedwith purchasing more locally grownfruits, vegetables and meats, as well ascreating sustainable communitygardens.

The dining hall serves three meals aday when school is in session, inaddition to keeping our boardingstudents and on-campus facultynourished on the weekends. For ourboarding students, Carmen and hisstaff offer a variety of options on the

weekends. Often, theyprepare a favorite dish andshare their own personalstories about how a mealbecame a favorite. Theyoffer special options too,

such as the wokbar which includesfour woks with avariety of stir fryoptions, or “makeyour own pizza,”or “make your ownhoagie.” Inaddition, our chefscater most of ouron-campus events,including Reunion

Weekend and our Annual DinnerAuction.

Solebury School has an employeerun kitchen, unlike some schools whichcontract out these services. Food is animportant part of the Soleburyexperience. Over the last several years,the dining hall staff has broadenedtheir knowledge of food preparationand presentation while expandingSolebury’s food sources. Dining atSolebury includes more items fromlocal and regional farms, offering awider variety of healthy, varied mealchoices with lots of fresh andhomemade vegetarian and vegan foodoptions at every meal.

Two years ago, head chef CarmenDiFoggio began ordering from theCommon Market, a non-profitcorporation launched by severalorganizations active in the local foodmovement in Philadelphia. Their goalwas to expand accessibility of local foodto populations in urban Philadelphiaand help the viability of family farms inthe countryside surroundingPhiladelphia.

“We make more meals from scratch,serving better quality food and as aresult getting more yield from freshcooking,” said Carmen with pride.That local cooking is enhanced by

fresh herbs, lovingly tended to byRobin Aipel, our groundskeeper.

Another big change in the kitchenwas the elimination of the deep fryerand with it, a significant reduction inthe use of fat in Solebury’s cookingprocesses. In its place, the RationalCombiMaster, a state-of-the-artcombination convection and steamoven, that prepares perfect French fries,only with a far lower fat content. Thismethod of cooking has made thekitchen more efficient and has allowedthe chefs to add more food choicesmade from scratch. Students, faculty,staff and summer campers reap thebenefits of these healthier cooked meals.

The dining hall and maintenancestaffs are instrumental in cultivating acompost pile. Composting has been anongoing project at Solebury. Each chefhas a composting bucket at his workstation, and there is a bucket locatednear the dining hall trash with a posterthat lists what we should and shouldn’tcompost. The composted material,which is located in a specific compostpile on the school grounds, has beenused in the new school garden andaround the campus landscaping.

What’s next? How about NationalPickle Day or National Vanilla IceCream Day? That’s what makes thedining hall one of the favorite places oncampus.

To learn more about food atSolebury and our chefs, visitwww.solebury.org, under About Us. ❖

What’s Cooking?For breakfast, there are eggs made to order,breakfast meats, hot cereal, and a vegan tofuoption as well. There is always fresh fruits,apples, oranges, and bananas, yogurt andgranola available, and several days a week,freshly baked cookies, cake or brownies. Duringlunch, diners have a choice of a hot meal with avegetarian option as well as a full salad bar, achoice of two soups with one soup accommodatingour vegan eaters, lunch meats and a variety offreshly prepared salads. Dinner is a freshlyprepared choice of hot meals.


Technology, in all its forms, is an essential part of asuccessful school’s dynamic. Solebury School iscontinuously working to combine proven educationaltechnologies with cutting edge hardware allowing us tooffer a blend of learning that works for both studentsand faculty. The Head of School and Director ofAdmission blog about campus life, families have singlesign on access within the website portal to view gradesand schedules, personal data, and online registration.Parents receive weekly electronic newsletters via email.Students submit assignments electronically and theteachers digitally disseminate homework, readingassignments and online videos.

Most computers on campus run Microsoft Windows7, simply because more educational software is availableand compatible with this system at this time. As learningand educational applications move more into the cloud,the platform of the computer is less of an issue. Internetand network speeds seem to be the biggest roadblockwhen running cloud and server based educationalapplications, and that is why Solebury has a “no holdsbarred” approach to both.

Our internet capability consists of two separateinternet service providers, balanced for high efficiencyand maximum speed. All computers on campus, wiredand wireless, have access to our school intranet network,which utilizes ultra-fast fiber optic connections.

Solebury fully embraces the BYOD (bring your owndevice) philosophy and allows Apple, Microsoft andAndroid computers, tablets and phones to use our network throughout the school day. Last summer the school installed abrand new, high bandwidth, WiFi infrastructure that gives coverage for students and staff for both learning and leisure.For students who do not have a computer, we have over 150 computers on campus for students to use.

Our ESL building is set up with a 12 computer language learning lab where students can read assignments intomicrophones and get pronunciation and grammar critiques from teachers live through their headsets. This one-on-oneinstruction in the lab setting allows students to practice pronunciation of vowel and consonant sounds, conversationstrategies, and formulate essays verbally for quizzes and tests. This language lab also doubles as an AP exam test locationfor French and Spanish and is used to practice for the TOEFL exams.

The Abbe Science Center has every classroom equipped with a digital whiteboard and projector, so that the teacher cancompose digital lesson plans, utilizing photos, videos and graphics in a captivating and educational manner. That buildingalso has laptops in each classroom, strictly purposed for student use.

The Founders Library has 26 touch screen HP computers, a high speed laser printer/ scanner, and a vast collection ofboth current and classic books and DVDs. Ten Nook tablets, five Mac books and three HP laptops are ready to be used atany time by students. The school has 16 online databases to use for research and an Overdrive brand e-book andaudiobook subscription for students to check out at any time.

The Art rooms have an eight computer digital video editing suite, a collection of video and still cameras and anassortment of audio recording tools. Our art room has always served as the hub for Solebury’s traditional visual arts, and itis now used for digital as well since there is a room dedicated to video and yearbook editing. It is also equipped with adigital whiteboard, projector and six Mac books for student use.

Technology at Solebury School

The A/V Room houses 12 computers for class and individual use.

www.solebury.org

_____________________________

Technology at Solebury has and willcontinue to expand our students’ andteachers’ ability to communicatebeyond the class in so many ways,from using web 2.0 tools forcollaborative projects within SoleburySchool to creating global connectionswell beyond our community. It is apriceless educational tool to enhanceclassroom learning, increaseproductivity, and promote creativity.These technological tools and systemswoven throughout Solebury’sadministrative and curricularactivities place it equal to or ahead ofits competitors._____________________________

Quinn Waters, Solebury’s IT Director also teaches a Photoshop class. Here, Quinn (far left) works with Josh Weinstein ’13and Andrew Hafner ’13 in the A/V room.

To further enhance the learning experience in and out of theclassroom, Moodle was introduced to faculty and students about threeyears ago. Moodle is known as a “Learning Management System” (LMS)or online “Content Delivery System,” and got its start primarily as avehicle to facilitate online courses. Once broadband took hold andcolleges started offering the chance to take online courses for graduationcredit, it quickly became apparent that a vehicle better than email wasneeded to bring together all the parts of a course when there was noface-to-face component. It’s sort of a one-stop shop and all can be donewithin Moodle: a place for teachers to post resources and students topost assignments, links to videos, a testing environment, synchronousand asynchronous conversations, private and group email, and more.Now Moodle is being used by many schools as a supplement to theirface-to-face classes.

“At Solebury, every teacher posts their daily homework on Moodle,”said Steve Buteux, Assistant Head of School. “That way if a student issick, he or she doesn’t have to rely on someone else, or worse, come toclass empty-handed the next day. In addition, many teachers postPowerPoint presentations of what they covered or supplemental sheetsthat can be helpful in clarifying the work a class is undertaking.”

Some of the more technologically savvy teachers even set up onlineforum discussions where class can continue after the bell rings. Thisenvironment allows students who are revved up about the material tokeep going and gives those who may be shy about speaking in class analternative opportunity for their voice to be heard. In the short timeSolebury has used Moodle, our teachers have quickly recognized itspotential.

Technology at Soleburyhas and will continue toexpand our students’ andteachers’ ability tocommunicate beyond theclass in so many ways,from using web 2.0 toolsfor collaborative projectswithin Solebury School tocreating globalconnections well beyondour community. It is apriceless educational toolto enhance classroomlearning, increaseproductivity, and promotecreativity. Thesetechnological tools andsystems woven throughoutSolebury’s administrativeand curricular activitiesplace it equal to or aheadof its competitors. ❖


The Performing Arts at Solebury is more than the actors onstage. The technical side ofa production, in particular light and sound, can make or break a performance. TheaterTechnical Directors Chris Langhart and Mike Barocca have continued to enhance thelighting and sound systems in both the school’s black box theater and the PerformingArts Center. Both spaces offer students great learning opportunities in theater tech andproduction and offer their families great venues for school performances.

Solebury’s black box theater is one of the jewels on campus, a versatile space for setbuilding with elaborate overhead rigging for lighting and a flexible sound system. Forlighting the stage, there are 110 dimmer channels, 150 lighting fixtures, strip lights, and awhole complement of gels, patterns, gobos and follow spots. Above the stage there is anintegral grid system for hanging lights which gives the technical crew great flexibility.The control booth is equipped with a state-of-the-art ETC lighting console. The crewalso controls the fly system for curtains, and can raise or lower props from above. Thesound system consists of built-in set speakers, theatrical audio, a playback system, and thetech crew has an intercom system with headsets so they are always in contact with eachother.

“If students are interested and motivated and come with an open mind, they will havethe opportunity to get a phenomenal education at the high school level. They get a lot ofindividualized attention if they are willing to put in the time,” said Mike. “We buildeverything from scratch, from theater design, scenic design and construction, painting,and set decorating, to stage management, stage craft, light rigging and light metal work.”

The Performing Arts Center (PAC) is still in a state of metamorphosis. Two years ago,with the help of the theater tech crew, Chris was able to design and build wooden risersand install carpet. The risers now accommodate several hundred chairs and the space isfrequently used for music and dance performances, as well as assemblies and coffeehouses.

Its lighting infrastructure has also undergone a renovation, with all new dimmers set upin a separate room, a dimmer closet and a lighting controller, allowing for channel countexpansion to 48 lighting channels that include overhead, side, back and front houselights.

Sound in the PAC has been updated as well. There is a multi-track recording system,which helps with producing and archiving school events. A center cluster was recentlyinstalled, which is a single point source speaker for great clarity for audience coverage. Inaddition, Mike is growing the complement of Shure wireless microphones, givingperformers more flexibility. If you haven’t been to a performance in the theater or PAC,make sure you add it to your things-to-do list soon. ❖

Nikki Gale ’13 & Jonathan Fleming ’16 have theaudience laughing in a scene from The DrowsyChaperone, performed in the school theater.

The spotlight’s on the Swing Dance classas they show off their moves at thewinter concert in the PAC.

Clover Stieve ’14 sings an original song duringa concert in the Performing Arts Center

Behind the Scenes of Lighting and Sound

Technical Director Chris Langhart (left) and theTech Crew work the lighting & sound for alltheater productions.

Mike Barocca’02, worksalongsideChrisLanghart asTechnicalDirector.

www.solebury.org

“The best thing about the Teach2Serveprogram is that you can clearly see thatyou are making a difference in otherpeople’s lives,” said Michaela Finley ’14.“It’s not the type of class that you think,‘Why am I taking this?’ You know why youtake this class. You take it to change livesand focus on becoming more a part of yourcommunity. You see the immediate reasonfor it. In my opinion, when you learn andexperience both in and outside of class, it isthe best kind of learning. Most schoolexperiences are about you, andTeach2Serve is that and more. It’s abouthelping your community in ways you seefit. It’s about helping people who need itmore than you do.”

This year, 10 students are participatingin this selective program. They have beenstudying natural disaster planning andresponse and the lessons from HurricaneKatrina. Hurricane Sandy added anotherunplanned facet to the curriculum thisyear, and the class decided to schedulemonthly trips to Staten Island to continuethe clean-up efforts and help victimsrebuild their homes.

This past November, six Teach2Servestudents, Rebecca Brady ’13, Ilona Wilde’15, Stasia Babicki ’15, Tavorsia Talley ’14,Ethan Clearfield ’15, and Michaela Finley

’14, joined forces with faculty membersDiane Downs, Chris Mineva, Chris’shusband Yordan, Mike Barocca andapproximately 40 other volunteers fromIthaca, NY and drove to Staten Island,where they spent two days helping to cleanup after Hurricane Sandy. They alsodelivered a truck load of school supplies tohelp the 3,000 children who were displacedby the flood. When they arrived in StatenIsland, the group encountered many waterand wind damaged homes and thousandsof destroyed cars. Volunteers fanned outthrough the neighborhoods, going door todoor to offer help and sympathetic ears.They packed up household goods thatcould be salvaged, carried out debris, and

made new friends. They listened to storiesof people who were washed down thestreet by a giant wave and saved bystrangers, broke through the walls of theirhouses to escape the rapidly rising water,lost pets, lost neighbors, lost everythingthey owned.

“You get a nice sense of accomplishmentat the end of the day,” said Rebecca Brady’13. “Most of the houses had to have wallsand floors ripped out, and most peoplehadn’t started or gotten very far but whenyou have a bunch of people workingtogether, the work goes quickly. It feels

like a lot gets done.”Four seniors have finished fine-tuning

their Teach2Serve capstone projects duringthe winter trimester, with each projecthighlighting a need that they haveidentified in their community. They willimplement their projects this spring. Theprojects offer the teaching of skills orservices through a variety of resources thatcould include community workshops,online tools, and mentoring services.These skills are those the students feelthey didn’t or haven’t learned yet and agreat way to give back.

For example, Rebecca will be cultivatingan organic community garden this springon the Solebury School campus. AlliyahAllen ’14 is interested in motivating youngstudents to take control of their owneducation. She is creating a website thatwill provide written and video instructionon how to organize school work and howto study effectively. Veronica Fitton ’14,along with other Solebury students asvolunteer mentors, will team up withstudents from Foundation Academy, andwill help guide them through the collegeapplication process. And Alex Leone ’14has created a workshop series that willteach adolescent girls practical life skills,such as managing their finances, writing aresume, interviewing skills, defending

oneself, as well as the verypractical skill of installing adoorknob. The Workshop isscheduled for Saturday, April13. She has invited womenspeakers to these workshops,alumnae and other womenprofessionals who canaddress these issues.

Since Solebury School andTeach2Serve partnered in

2010, seven students have graduated fromthe two-year program that is designed toeducate and train high school studentslooking to make a positive change locally,nationally, or globally. These studentsattend two years of classes and workshopson skills ranging from grant writing tofundraising to leadership. Each studentwrites a final project proposal to address aneed that aligns with their personalpassions and goals. For more information about Teach2Serve, go to www.solebury.org or www.teach2serve.org ❖

“Teach2Serve hopes to educate and inspire the next generation of nonprofit professional, community leaders and social entrepreneurs.As we grow from the original two schools, I’m pleased to say, we are beginning to fulfill the dream of developing a network of schoolsand students who change the world.”

Alan Sheriff, Founder of Teach2Serve, Solebury Board of Trustees Secretary & Current Parent

Puts Solebury in Forefront in Public Service Education

Above: A group of students & teachers went to Staten Island to help victims ofHurricane Sandy (Photo shared by Diane Downs)

Right: Veronica Fitton ’14 tutors a student at the Village Charter School inTrenton, NJ. (Photo shared by Diane Downs)


Global LearningInternational Studies and Service Learning Program

Gains MomentumWith the inception of the school’s International Studies and Service Learning Program, coordinators William Collier

and Christine Le Gall have been busy planning meaningful international travel opportunities for students who want tostudy a country’s culture, enhance their study of language, and help others by doing a meaningful service project.

This year, Solebury students traveled to Nicaragua, Canada, and Germany. Last year, an exchange program wasestablished with the St. Christophe School in Toulouse, France. Both American and French students experienced both alanguage and culture immersion with various local trips, classroom lessons and friendly conversation. It was a great successand will be repeated next year. This year, Solebury coordinated an exchange with the Stadtteilschule Helmuth HübenerSchool in Hamburg, Germany. William and Christine took 11 students to Germany from March 15-25, and 11 Germanstudents will come to Solebury from April 15 – 25.

Ultimately, the school would like to offer a trip to every continent, and to have a schedule projected out four years, sothat a student coming in as a freshman would have the opportunity to look ahead and plan. The goal is to offer someservice trips and some culture and language immersion trips to give our students multiple opportunities to deepenlanguage skills and social experiences that complement classroom learning in foreign language and community service. Byoffering a different trip each year, it gives our students the opportunity to travel to other countries, gain a betterunderstanding of different cultures and their people, making them stronger students of the world.

Language and Culture Immersion and Service-Learning in Nicaragua Claire Le Gall ’14 of Doylestown now

appreciates the things she always tookfor granted, like running water. Claireand 11 other students traveled toNicaragua to experience a very differentlife from the one she is used to in BucksCounty, PA.

“Some people need to walk for milesup and down mountains just to get aday’s worth of water, when we can justturn on a faucet and fill up a bathtubwhenever we want,” said Claire. “Itinspired me to see that these people,who have nothing compared to all thestuff we own, could live perfectly happylives. My favorite experience wasplaying with the neighborhood kids.They were so incredibly sweet andproved that children don’t need fancytoys and electronics to have fun!Another great part of the trip wasswimming in a lake in a volcano crater -a once in a lifetime experience.”

According to William, the tripexceeded his expectations.

From Left: William Collier, Nicaraguan farmer, Claire Le Gall ’14, Jake Messina ’15, Veronica Fitton’14, Dakota Morrow ’14, Emilia Vecchiarelli ’13, Stasia Babicki ’15, Matt Ludak ’15, (two other farmworkers), Alliyah Allen ’14, Leah Grudberg ’14, Julie Meisinger-MacDonald ’14, Jack Sapoch ’14,Cameron King ’15, & Christine Le Gall. (Photo shared by William Collier)

www.solebury.org

“The group did so many wonderful things, from taking Spanish classes in the open air, to picking coffee on a mountainside, to watching an active volcano at night,” said Collier. “I have done a lot of traveling and I have to say, the Nicaraguanpeople are the nicest, kindest, most open and helpful people I have ever met, everyone from our Spanish teachers, to thecooks, the night watchman, and our host families. That alone made the trip more than worthwhile. And our students weregreat. They were adventurous, inquisitive, open, friendly, and caring. What happened then was that our students and theNicaraguan people we met became fast friends.”

The group visited and stayed at the Spanish language school, community outreach center, and eco-hotel, La Mariposa,which is located in the pueblo of San Juan de la Concepcion. Students also had a one-night homestay, which provided agreat opportunity to experience life in the household of a Nicaraguan family.

These students left their mark during this trip. They had a number of choices to work with the community, fromworking in a daycare center to tending a community garden that provides fresh produce to the village, and helping withrenovation and clean-up of the cultural center. Thanks to the generosity of the Burpee Seed Company and a Soleburyparent, students brought more than 150 vegetable seed packets to be incorporated into the organic garden.

At El Nisperal, an organic coffee plantation and research center, students learned what happens before they can ordertheir extra large coffee from their favorite barista at home as they picked mountain grown organic coffee.

Earlier in the year, students raised nearly $1,000 through bake sales and flower sales, which they donated to the SanJuan de la Concepcion Cultural Center to help build a bakery.

Fun and Learning at Quebec’s Winter CarnivalSolebury’s bi-annual trip to

Quebec, Canada for theWinter Carnival always provesto be fun and educational.This year, 18 students andthree faculty members traveledto Quebec over the school’smid-winter break in earlyFebruary. According to Frenchteacher Helen Matthews, itwas a wonderful trip withmany adventures, includingracing along a dog-sleddingcourse, speedily sliding downsnow-tubing chutes, andmarveling at the sharp teeth ofthe piranhas at the MontrealBio-dome. Culinary highlightsincluded a succulent crepedinner, a traditional lumberjackfeast, and an incredible amountof maple syrup with every meal.

“My decision to go to Quebec was motivated by a desire to improve my French languageskills, to appreciate a different culture, and to share the experience with good friends,” saidfreshman Lia D’Alessandro. “Not only did I have a chance to practice speaking in French,but conversations with native speakers made me appreciate how much more there is tolearn! Quebec is charming and the activities that introduced the culture were educationaland fun. Although it’s hard to choose a favorite moment in such a fun-filled trip, I’d have toadmit that dog sledding tops the list. Learning how to manage a sled was a greatadventure–and, as an animal lover, I could not resist those adorable dogs!” ❖

Lia D’Alessandro ’17 plays with a puppy during the dogsledding expedition in Quebec. (Photo shared by Steve Benoit)

Our students and French teachers traveled to Quebec, Canada to attend the annual Winter Carnival. The group includedAlex Babicki ’17, Fiona Bauman ’17, Zoe Bellapigna ’14, Sophia Bridgers ’14, Lia D’Alessandro ’17, Jian Dempsey’14, Ashley Fry ’13, Jacob Goodman ’18, Dean Linkroum ’13, Adriel Magidenko ’13, Lorenz Markhoff ’16, TaliNatan ’17, Cookie Pierce ’16, Nick Serdaru ’13, Hailey Tasch ’15, Quinn Webster ’17, Josh Weinstein ’13, Ilona Wilde’15, Steve Benoit, Christine Le Gall, & Helen Matthews. (Photo shared by Steve Benoit)


Senior Keziah Groth-Tuft ’13 was among 12 young women and men who were awarded the Central Bucks Chamber ofCommerce Young Citizen’s Award. Keziah was recognized for her exceptional community service and her extraordinarydisplay of character and community involvement. She and her fellow recipients were honored at a luncheon ceremony atThe Waterwheel Restaurant in Doylestown in November.

Keziah is a young woman who just gives and gives with no end in sight. She overcomes complications from Crohn’sDisease to be an active student on campus; running cross country, playing basketball, singing in our Master Chorus, andserving as President of the student body. It’s no wonder that she also earned the 2012 Princeton Book Award forexemplary academics and community service.

None of this includes her amazing work outside of school. Keziah has achieved the Gold Award, the Girl Scout’s highesthonor and engages in numerous volunteer opportunities, where she has amassed over 230 community service hours in herlifetime. She bakes for several homeless organizations, teaches Sunday School, volunteers at the library and with Habitatfor Humanity, works at a beach shop during the summer repairing jewelry, and was a finalist in the Bucks County HighSchool Poet Laureate competition. Keziah is a long-time crew member for Lewis Fishery in Lambertville where shefishes, takes count of the catch, sells fish and measures samples for scientists, at the longest continually operating in-landfishery for shad on the Delaware River. Recently, she attended a National Student Leadership Conference onInternational Relations where she ran a Model UN Simulation on Drug Trafficking with UN Security Council.

Last summer, Keziah travelled to India to help in an orphanage, paying her own way and convincing her parents anddoctors to allow it. Oh, and she plays piano for fun!

Of all her activities, she finds most meaning from her experience with the Girl Scouts. For her Gold Project, which shetitled the “Amistad Project,” she designed and ran a bi-lingual, multi-session program that continues to bring Hispanicand English-speaking families together to learn about language and share cultural identities. She did a great deal ofresearch and took it further than she originally intended, but the end result was worth it, she said, because it united twocultures to help develop cross-cultural understanding and friendships.

Those who know Keziah, know that whatever road she chooses, she will make a difference in the world after she leavesSolebury and goes on to college and life. ❖

Keziah (lower right corner), reviewed basic Spanish and Englishvocabulary with The Project’s pilot group.

Senior Wins Young Citizen’s Award

Keziah Groth-Tuft ’13 (center), with Head of School Tom Wilschutz, andher parents, Dr. Charlie Groth & Daniel Tuft.

Keziah gave a welcome speech inSpanish & English at the firstsession of The Amistad Projectshe developed.

This February, AlliyahAllen ’14 was among theselect high school juniorshonored at the WidenerUniversity High SchoolLeadership Award ceremonyat the National ConstitutionCenter in Philadelphia.These students wereselected for this award basedon their abilities to stand upfor what is right, address awrong and make a differencein their communities orschools. In addition to theaward, Alliyah will beinvited to attend a leadership conference at WidenerUniversity in fall 2013. She is eligible to receive ascholarship of $20,000 over four years should she enroll atWidener University for undergraduate studies.

“The turnout of nominations this year was remarkableand the level of civic engagement among the winners istruly inspiring,” said Widener University President JamesT. Harris III. “Our mission at Widener is deeply rooted inservice, leadership and community, making this programextremely special to the university. The winners are thenext generation of leaders in our area.”

Alliyah came to Solebury School through the WightFoundation, an organization that provides grants to youngmen and women to attend boarding schools in the NewEngland and Mid-Atlantic Regions. These students mustexcel in their academic work and attend school in theGreater Newark area (Essex, Union, Hudson, Passaic andMiddlesex Counties). Alliyah not only excels academically(top 10 of her class), she is inspired to make a difference inthe lives of her peers and younger students.

As a member of Judiciary Committee, she shares herbroader perspective, so when someone does somethingwrong, she focuses not on the indiscretion, but onidentifying the reasons and strategies to fix the problems.

She feels that strengthens thecommunity.

As an athlete, Alliyah never liked topractice before coming to Solebury.Now, as goalie for the field hockey andlacrosse teams, she realizes she has tolead by example. She runs that practicemile and works to achieve goalscollectively.

“It’s more important to competeagainst myself and strive to better myselfrather than be better than everyone else.I had the wrong idea of what a leader is.It’s about being a part of the team.”

As a dorm proctor, Alliyah is there forher dorm mates. “I don’t want other girls

to be sad, so I might sit with them when they can’t sleep orif they’re homesick. I want everyone to feel accepted.”

Alliyah has clocked over 70 hours of community service,working at her old school, helping teachers with class work,grading papers, and organization.

She is also involved with Solebury’s service learningprogram, Teach2Serve. For her project, she is creating awebsite focused on inner city middle schoolers. Thewebsite will be a resource for students to help them getorganized, develop study skills, offer advice on when toapproach teachers for help, and testimonials of peers whohave made it against all odds.

Alliyah is one of four students who spearheaded aTeach2Serve service project to help the Village CharterSchool of Trenton with tutoring, mentoring, and playingwith the third to fifth graders. Every Monday and Friday, agroup of Solebury School students visit the school.

“It’s nice to have a student mentor, to see that they wentto this school, and then made it into a private school. Itsays a lot to these students. I want them to see thatsomebody cares and say, “See, I made it and you can too.”Alliyah is still looking at her college opportunities and ishonored that Widener University recognized her as astudent leader. ❖

Solebury Junior Awarded the Widener University High School Leadership Award

Alliyah Allen ’14 (center) received the leadership award fromWidener University President James T. Harris III and LoriWilson, News Anchor at WCAU-TV NBC10.

Alliyah (near center) with fellow award winners at the National ConstitutionCenter in Philadelphia.


Spotlight on AlumniMeet Harrie Lewis ’35

It was 1933, the Great Depression, and Harrie Lewis ’35 was struggling at a public school in Yonkers, New York. Hisfather worked hard to make ends meet for the household, but the hours spent running a small publishing business leftlittle time for Harrie, an only child. Harrie’s mother knew he needed more. She learned of Solebury School through aneducational counselor and, at Head of School Arthur “Doc” Washburn’s request – drove to New Hope from Yonkers.

“I went to the school and I liked it instantly,” said Lewis, but there was no way for the family to afford the yearlyboarding tuition of $1,350. With some financial assistance, Harrie enrolled and began what has been an 80-yearrelationship with Solebury School.

“The first week I was there, I got an assignment to write about an experience. I wrote about a lonely boy who took all ofhis money to a Lambertville drug store that had a soda fountain and treated himself to a Banana Royale, enjoyed itenormously and felt better,” Lewis recalled. “I had written a sentence that was 156 words long. The banana split wasoversized and the sentence was oversized, but grammatically correct with no punctuation errors.”

From then on, every time Harrie wrote a paper, his English teacher Charles Lawson reviewed it with him. Eventually,Harrie learned that he enjoyed English and History, and he became co-editor of the Solebury Scribe with Bill Hunt ’35. Hepublished his editorials on the front page. While Harrie excelled in English and was an accomplished musician, he claimedto have been a terrible athlete. He tried football, but said he “couldn’t catch passes and I couldn’t block.”

Harrie Lewis ’35 holds the handmade diploma he received during his Solebury Schoolgraduation. It hangs on his bedroom wall along with his degree from Harvard University.

“Solebury School was different from its verybeginnings. Started by four young teachers whohad been counselors together at a summer campin New Hampshire, the four men – LaurieErskine, Julian Lathrop, Robert Shaw, andArthur Washburn – had been impressed by howan informal atmosphere helped foster goodlearning relationships between boys and men.From this experience, they developed a stronginterest in starting a different type of school fromthe regimented schools they had known. Theywanted a friendly, relaxed school which could yetmaintain high standards of achievement. Theybelieved, as Erskine wrote, that the educationalmethods of the day made for ‘a decidedlydepressing and boring experience for allstudents…and frustrated really talented teacherswho would have liked to excite in their students alively and comprehensive interest in theirsubjects.’ So, with limited funding and theenthusiasm that young idealists possess, theystarted Solebury School.”

-Excerpt from Solebury at 75: A Fond Look Back

www.solebury.org

SOLEBURY SCHOOLATHLETIC

HALL OF FAME2013

Solebury School is pleased to announce this year’sinductees to the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Please join us for the induction ceremony on Saturday, May 4 at 1:00 p.m. in the

John D. Brown Athletic Center.

Joan Reinthaler ’53Malcolm Ingram ’06

1955-56 Football Team

Don McCook, CoachHarry Bach ’56

Marcus Boyd ’57Ken Cromwell ’57

Stu Fox ’58Mike Getlin ’58

Fred Goodwin ’56John Holbert ’56

E. A. “Spike” Hulit ’57Jon Kaplan ’56

Jim MacArthur ’56Andy Merrill ’57

Michael “Pancho” Roth ’56Bill “Dutch” Schoener ’56

Mike “Duke” Sienkiewicz ’56John Silver ’57

Wistar Silver ’59Holly Taylor ’57Kirk White ’57

1986-87 Boys’ Basketball Team

Cleve Christie, CoachChris MacBrien ’79, Assistant Coach

Kevin Ballard ’90Keith Pinckney ’87

Brad Price ’87Carnell “Candido” Rivera ’88

Corey White ’88Navarrow J. Wright ’88

More info at www.solebury.org

After Solebury, Harrie went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree inhistory and literature from Harvard University, graduating cumlaude. He went on to work as a market researcher and eventuallyreturned home to Yonkers to take over AF Lewis & Co., his father’sprinting business.

Today, Harrie lives in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania enjoying lifewith Holmquist graduate Dr. Jeana Davison Levinthal H ’39. Newsthat Harrie’s wife had passed reached Jeana out in California in2003, and she sent Harrie a note of condolence. They begancorresponding, rekindling a friendship that had been separated bydecades. Eventually, Jeana came out to the East Coast, relocating toan apartment in the same retirement community as Harrie.

Throughout the years, Harrie has always made giving to Soleburya priority. He credits Solebury as the starting point for his success.“If I hadn’t gone to Solebury, I would not have been accepted toHarvard.”

His generosity has helped Solebury in many ways. Most recently,he supported building The Music Center in the center of campus,where one of the practice rooms bears his name. Harrie is also amember of the Herbert S. Boyd Society, which means that he let theSchool know that he has included Solebury School in his estateplanning. Harrie Lewis is one of Solebury’s most enduringsupporters. Thanks in part to Harrie’s care and support, Soleburywill continue to nurture learning for years to come. ❖

Early Solebury School

Alma’s UpdateSpring 2013

HOLMQUIST SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 1917-1949Class of 1940Carla Zingarelli Rosenlicht spendssummers in Oregon and winters inArizona. She sometimes hears fromPenny Warren Caccavo H’41.

Class of 1945Mary Blackburn Hill tells us that sheand her husband are enjoying theirretirement life at Rogue Valley Manor inMedford, OR. She still paints and draws.

Class of 1946Polly Gnagy Seymour still manages theused book store – The New Leaf at theWinter Park FL, library. Her five childrenare grown as are several grandchildren.As fond elders, she and Thad admirewhat they are doing and stay in touch byall the contemporary means –telephone, email, Facebook, Skype andeven letters and regular visits.

SOLEBURY SCHOOL FOR BOYS 1925-1949Class of 1941Henry Garlington reached the BIG 90and has moved into a retirementcommunity.

Class of 1943Fritz Holmquist and his wife Margaret,have been at their retirement communityin Kennett Square, PA for 12 years. Bothare still active in community activitiesand volunteer at the Brandywine RiverMuseum.

Class of 1947Peter Whelan’s first novel, The CornetLesson is now available electronically atAmazon.com/kindlelibrary. It begins in1907 New Orleans and follows a youngcornet player, Freddie Keppard, throughsetbacks, trials, a fateful marriage, and akind of success with the Original Creolejazz band – the first to introduce jazz tothe US.

SOLEBURY SCHOOL 1950–PRESENTClass of 1951Susan Wagner Carlson’s husbandDenny, died suddenly on Sep 28th, 2012.She is reminded to cherish every day.They would have been married 58 yearson November 25th.

Class of 1952Malcolm Drezner has settled in KeyWest, FL after 30 years of an activesurgical practice including a year as aMarine and surgeon in Vietnam (1967-1968).

Dick Walsh enjoyed the 60th reunionwith Chuck Schwartz, Neil MacLean,Felix Rosengarten, David Mueller,Diana Lippincott, Jean Shaw, BetsyMeredith, Joan Reinthaler, and DirkRichter. He is looking forward to the65th reunion in 2017.

Class of 1953Jean Shaw had a new knee put in and isso glad she did. She now plans to visitMachu Picchu and the Galapagos inOctober 2013 with her cousin AlexaShaw McDonough ’62. Jean lovescoming back to school, and is so happyto see it continue to thrive.

Class of 1955Barbara Montagu Johnstone wants tothank Solebury for the honor ofinducting her into the Athletic Hall ofFame. She’s a little disappointed thatSolebury didn’t recommend her for the2012 Olympics!

Renee Rosengarten Hurewitz started atSolebury in 1949, the year it became co-ed. Three of the four founders were stillteaching. Pop Shaw was very influentialin her life and was instrumental ingetting her admitted to WellesleyCollege. She credits Solebury withchanging her life.

Class of 1956Susan McCabe Gillotti’s book, Womenof Privilege: 100 years of Love and Lossin a Family of the Hudson River Valley isbeing published in early 2013 byAcademy Chicago Publishers. It is partsocial history, part biography, and partmemoir. There are a few references in itto Solebury, all positive.

Some reviews:

“Susan Gillotti opens the door of thisgreat house to explore the lives andturmoil within. Women of Privilege is ariveting read—one cannot stop until thefinal outcome of these powerful, butflawed, lives is revealed. Equallycompelling is that the telling of thesepersonal dramas is based on a wealth ofconserved letters, diaries, and otherdocumentation.”

– Peter H. Brink, former Senior VicePresident, Programs, National Trustfor Historic Preservation

“Using a treasure trove of familyrecords, Susan Gillotti relates withwonderful details the challenges thatfaced the upper class women in herfamily from the latter decades of thenineteenth century until the latetwentieth. The book offers readers alook at the beautiful Hudson River Valley,but we also learn about the lives ofprosperous Americans in east coastcities, at elite schools, and in Europe.This is a riveting and moving familystory, which, quite literally, I could notput down.”

– Miriam Cohen, Evalyn ClarkProfessor of History, Vassar College

Nancy Purdum is retired from aprolonged stay at Gourmet Magazineand moved to a one-room school housein “terrifying” upstate New York. Shetells us that the transition was horriblebut she has managed to adjust. She

SPRING 2013 THE ALMA PAGE 2

misses all of her former classmates andteachers – Frank Ammirati, her favorite,and Bob Anderson, the dear departed.Must get to a reunion soon!

Class of 1957Ken Cromwell is still a professionalgolfer. He teaches all summer and stilloccasionally plays.

Class of 1958Bob Stockton has a new book comingout, Counting Coup: The Odyssey ofCaptain Tom Adams. It is a westernadventure novel. Tom Adams, arecently discharged Union Army CavalryCaptain, sets out to discover the truthabout who the “real” Kit Carson was,and in the process learns somedisturbing and eye opening facts aboutthe legendary Indian fighter whoalthough illiterate rose to the rank ofBrevet Brigadier in the Union Army.

Class of 1959Mari Knudsen Share runs a small charitycalled “Twice loved Dolls and Trucks.”Both of her children are teachers.

Wistar Silver has great memories of awonderful school.

Class of 1960Rick Smith is doing a lot of readings,recently at Mount San Antonio College,to support Hard Landing. Rick has anew book, Whispering In a Mad Dog’sEar, which is due in late 2013 or early2014. Rick still enjoys playing in theclubs and recording with the MusicalSheiks.

Class of 1961Sandra Mason Coggeshall ran into BillBerkeley ’49 during her weekly stay onMohegan Island, ME.

Class of 1962Sally Bowie writes, “It was a great joyfor me to reconnect with so manyformer classmates, both in person andvia other mediums. Our 50th reunionwas truly a special occasion. Thanks toeveryone, most especially my co-conspirator, Toni Peters. After alumniweekend, my husband said, ‘I wish I’dgone to a school like Solebury.’”

Class of 1965Terry Thompson tells us, “After 39 yearsin community banking in NJ, mostrecently as President/COO of a $450million asset bank in North Jersey, Iretired for a short time but was asked tohelp a new community bank in Freehold,NJ and now I’m enjoying building a newentity. My years at Solebury areremembered as a great opportunity andexperience.”

Jaye Friedman Levy and her husbandlive in Irvine, CA and spend time in BocaRaton, FL. She continues to dopsychotherapy and critical incidentstress debriefing for layoffs, bankrobberies, death in the workplace andother stressful occurrences. Sheencourages alumni to contact her ifthey are going to visit Florida orCalifornia.

Class of 1968Sandy Hoffacker remembers, “Over my21 years working at Solebury, most ofthem in the alumni office, I got to knowmany wonderful people. Of course,Jean Shaw ’53 was the first when shecame back to help keep Solebury fromgoing over the fiscal cliff. And after thatmany more came to help. I feel veryblessed to have gotten to know so manyalumni, parents and teachers. TekTalmont ’49 was one of them.”

John Sadwith is looking forward toseeing all 1968 classmates in May forthe 45th reunion.

Class of 1978Melissa Hamilton has done it again:She and her business partnerChristopher have written a big, fat,delicious cookbook. Canal House Cooks

Every Day. It is a whole year’s worth ofcooking from Canal House, based onthe popular daily lunch blog, CanalHouse Cooks Lunch(lunch.thecanalhouse.com). It’s ahandsome 385-page book with nearly250 new recipes and more than 130photographs and illustrations.

Class of 1988Navarrow Wright was selected as oneof Verizon’s Innovators and Pioneers.Navarrow is working to change hiscommunity and the country. He hascombined his strong cultural ties andVerizon technology to empower today’ssociety.

Navarrow is the Chief Technical Officerof Interactiveone.com, the Internetsubsidiary of Radio One. In addition tobeing a highly sought after inspirationalspeaker, Navarrow is a premier experton the convergence of technology, theInternet, mass media and social media’spower to change businesses, societyand personal lives. His work inWashington, D.C., influencing policychange and national technologyadoption makes him one of the nation’sleading voices in the fight to close thedigital divide.

Quickly rising through the ranks, hebecame CTO of Viacom’s BETInteractive, where he helped makeBET.com the leading entertainmentonline destination for AfricanAmericans, growing the site’s audience300% during his time there. Wrightgained experience as an entrepreneuras co-founder of Globalgrind.com withhip hop icon Russell Simmons.Navarrow was also featured in the CNNdocumentary “Black in America 4 w/Soledad O’Brien,” where he was shownmentoring entrepreneurs as part of thefirst Internet accelerator focused onminority and women technologyentrepreneurs.

Priding himself on showing people howtechnology can be an enabler to helpthem achieve their dreams, Navarrowrecently launched the “Close the DivideProject” (http://closethedividefor.me).


His vision for the initiative is to buildawareness among underservedcommunities (minorities and women)about the opportunities that technologycan provide in key areas, like education,healthcare, career growth andentrepreneurship. Navarrow’spassionate commentary on theimportance of digital literacy can befound on various media outlets, such asthe Huffington Post and NewsOne.Follow Navarrow on Twitter@navarrowwright.

Class of 1991Winter Miller’s new play AMANDINEtells the amazing true story of a 19thcentury girl, raised in the convents ofrural France, only to die as a man on thestreets of Paris. It has somethingimportant to say about the courage ittakes to be ourselves and to love oneanother for exactly who we are. Highlytheatrical and excitingly ambitious,AMANDINE premiered Off BroadwayJanuary 2013 at the Cherry LaneTheatre in a co-production with DixonPlace, featuring the work of a team ofTony, Drama Desk, and Lortel Award-winning designers.http://www.playbill.com/news/article/166795-Justin-Vivian-Bond-and-Colman-Domingo-Will-Sing-Songs-from-Amandine-June-19

Class of 1992Renee Bostic is the new AthleticDirector at Medger Evers College of theCity of New York.

Class of 1996Noah Jarrett, Solebury Gamelanteacher, has a great band called TheInBetweens. The group has beenplaying together for over 10 years,touring the US and Europe, and are onthe cusp of releasing their 4th albumOut On A Limb.

They just finished a successful kick-starter campaign to get this album onvinyl, CD, and digitally distributed, andreceived rave reviews from The NewYork Times’ Pick of the Week.www.theinbetweensmusic.com/

Class of 1999Check out Sean Scolnick’s, akaLanghorne Slim, new CD called TheWay We Move.

Class of 2001Christopher Kuhnel is back in PA and asalesman for the family business. Hereports exciting times with a two-yearold son and an amazing wife. He has agreat time hunting and fishing.

Quinn Waters, Solebury’s InterimDirector of IT, released his debut albumRace Music under the moniker CaffeineMachine. Quinn wanted to make arecord that was like times of old, whenan album was played from start tofinish, having interludes and preludes ofthemes play throughout on differentinstrumentation.

Quinn wrote, recorded, produced, sang,played on and arranged this album byhimself. He recorded the vast majorityof this record in his South Phillybedroom. Race Music is available oniTunes.

Scan this code for the music video.

Class of 2004Lauren Smerkanich is the head writerand producer of a highly successfulweb-based comedy series called TheComplex. Chris Stefanic, writer for thePressPassLA had this to say about theshow:

New Web Series The Complex showsthat passion pays off. Two and a halfyears ago, at the Atlantic TheatreCompany, five graduates decided theywould go out to L.A., to work together.

Now, just about anybody with a dreamcould promote this as their story, right?But how many get the chance tocompletely self-finance and self-promote a Web Series that makes itsdebut on Sunset Boulevard after twoyears of tumultuous blood, sweat andtears? Well...not as many as you’d think!

But the five youngsters of Bad BonsaiProductions made it happen. TheComplex is the story of a young man,James, who has been dumped by hisgirlfriend. Bumming on couches with hisfriends in the very apartment complex(hence, the first of the double entendresurrounding the title) which she lives,James vows to win her back.

The presentation of the story itself is arelaxed narrative that doesn’t take itselftoo seriously, and that’s a beautifulthing. In a time when Web Series andother online storytelling is becominggeneral entertainment fodder, a showlike this, by a small self-financed groupof people, could grow into somethingsymbolic for the ages. Check it out:http://www.webserieschannel.com/the-complex/

Class of 2005Ju Sung Yoon wrote to Phyllis Arnoldthat he is doing well and working as anAbercrombie manager in Korea.

Class of 2006Amy Ramsey-Lefevre has been living inSyracuse for five years and is currentlyemployed as a peace activist withPeace Action of Central New York andthe Syracuse peace council. Herfavorite part of the job is coordinatingthe peace newsletter. She gives muchthanks to Solebury School, the firstplace where she dabbled in activismand newspaper editing.

Class of 2008David Couture graduated a year early,May 2011, as an Honors Scholar andMagna Cum Laude with a BS inFinancial Services from Johnson &Wales. He is currently a financialadvisor with Merrill Lynch.


Class of 2009Nate Danciger traveled to Florence,Italy and London, England studyingarchitecture as part of SyracuseUniversity’s International Program.

Tess Graham is starting the RN programat St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, PAand plans to graduate in August 2014.

Justine Keller, a senior at ConnecticutCollege, took part in 4 Dead in Ohio:Antigone at Kent State, a TheaterDepartment production. Justine servedon the Poster Design Crew for theproduction.

Class of 2010Paul Kuhn is a junior at XavierUniversity in Cincinnati majoring inPsychology.

Creighton Sillars took a year off fromWarren Wilson College to work atTelluride in Colorado and loves it.

Class of 2011Evan Asoudegan has opened MOO, apermanent restaurant at 4010 DurhamRoad in Ottsville, PA. Some new menuitems include veggie chili, chicken soup,peanut butter and jelly sandwichesmade with homemade organic peanutbutter, and veggie burgers using localmushrooms.

DEATHSClass of 1949Tek TalmontJanuary 19, 1932 – September 1, 2012 Born in Warsaw, Poland, Tek came tothe United States as a young boy. Aftergraduating Solebury, he attendedRutgers University, where he earned hisB.A. While at Rutgers, he becameactive with the university’s radio station,which cultivated in him a deep interestin jazz. He settled in Westfield, N.J., tobegin a long career as a news writer forradio and print media. A court andpolice reporter for the Courier News, hebrought to the people difficult storieswith great skill, eloquence and grace.His professional joys came fromcovering local New Jersey politicalraces and writing the Courier‘s jazz beat

column for many years. He marriedEvelyn W. Talmont in 1961 and togetherthey raised three children. He enjoyed a35-year career and lived well inretirement. He spent the last 14 yearsdown at the Jersey Shore, enjoying hispassions, jazz, basketball, swimming,record collecting, the beach, horseracing and the simplicity of an everydayroutine.

Class of 1953Reeve Skidmore Donley ’59February 28, 1935 – January 3, 2013 Reeve died from complications afterheart surgery. Reeve is survived bybrothers, Alan and Clifford Donley;nephew of William Donley and manynieces and nephews and cousins of alarge family.

Class of 1957Matthew Winthrop May 8, 1928 – January 1, 2013Matt is survived by three sisters andfour brothers. Handicapped since hisearly years, Matt always loved musicand was involved in a variety ofcharities. The cause of death wasissues related to his life-long paralysisaggravated by an infection.

Class of 1975Leda E. PetrovSeptember 24, 1958 – December 19,2012 Leda was born and raised in New Hope.She received her undergraduate degreefrom Vassar College in Poughkeepsie,NY. During her studies in East Asiacultures, Leda was awarded a fullscholarship as an exchange student toattend the Mandarin Training Center inTaiwan. She received an MBA in EastAsian Studies from the University ofHawaii. Having fallen in love with thelanguage and culture upon graduation,she took advantage of another earnedfellowship and returned to Beijing,China for another year of studies andadventure. Leda was fluent in Mandarinand Classical Chinese. She was one ofthe first American students accepted tostudy Asian Culture in the People’sRepublic of China during the 1970s.

Class of 2003Charles Gale, VJune 8, 1984 – September 10, 2012Charles died unexpectedly in amotorcycle accident. He was 28.Charles graduated from DelawareValley College. He loved cars,motorcycles, and computers and wasan avid tennis player, playing while inhigh school and recently playing withhis mother in mixed doubles at the clublevel. Charles worked in the computerdepartment at Solebury School andmost recently ran the IT Department atthe family business, Gale Nurseries inGwynedd. Charles also enjoyedtraveling with his family to such placesas: Africa, Peru, Iceland, France,Norway, Scotland, Spain, Australia,New Zealand, Mexico and Costa Rica.He was involved in conquering thesummit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa in2004, a 14-day boating trip in Coloradoand in 2006 sat with the gorillas inRwanda. Charles was also a drivingenthusiast and was very interested inBMW’s and worked on modifications forcar owners all over the country.

ImportantInformationPlease check out Solebury’swebsite www.solebury.org. Onthis site you can send classnotes, update your contactinformation, register forreunions, make a gift toSolebury, and more.

You can stay connected toSolebury via Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, RSS Feeds, Flickr,and YouTube. Please join us.You can find us via the website.

Alumni Weekend 2013!Friday, May 3 – Sunday, May 5

Join us for a weekend of fun …

Register online at www.solebury.orgFRIDAY, MAY 33:00-4:00 pm Registration, Founders Library

School memorabilia available for purchase in Bookstore

4:00 pm Varsity Baseball game, vs. Valley Forge Military AcademyVarsity Tennis match, vs. Plumstead Christian School

6:00-8:00 pm Alumni Reception, Centre Bridge InnCatch up with your classmates while enjoying wine, beer, and hors d’oeuvresComplimentary, 2998 North River Road, New Hope

8:00 pm Reunion Dinner (All Classes), Centre Bridge Inn$50 per person, reservations required, 2998 North River Road, New Hope

SATURDAY, MAY 49:00-10:00 am Registration & Student-Led Tours, Founders Library

School memorabilia available for purchase

10:00 am Memorial Service, Alumni Memorial Garden (behind Founders Library)Rain Location, Abbe Science BuildingHonor the memory of classmates and alumni who are recently deceased

11:00-11:30 am Class Photos, Boyd Dining Hall

11:30 am-12:30 pm Reunion Lunch, Boyd Dining HallEnjoy a complimentary lunch

1:00 pm Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony, John D. Brown Athletic Center

3:00-5:00 pm Alumni Burger and Beer Bash, Home of Tom & Rebecca Wilschutz, Head of School$10 per person

6:00-10:00 pm Solebury’s Annual Dinner & Auction, John D. Brown Athletic CenterA Night of Intrigue: Shaken Not Stirred$75 per person, price includes open bar, reservations required

SUNDAY, MAY 510:00 am Farewell Brunch, Boyd Dining Hall

Join your classmates for a complimentary farewell buffet brunch

**Transportation Tip: Trenton Airport/Frontier Airlines offers reasonably priced flights and is much closer to Solebury.


www.solebury.org

AUCTION SPECIAL APPEALEnhancing spaces for the Visual Arts

During the annual Dinner Auction, we seek donations to enhance a specific area or program eachyear. The Special Appeal has raised funding for initiatives such as the Crib renovations and the John& Linda Brown Faculty Enrichment Endowment. Last year, supporters contributed nearly $41,000 tooutfit The Music Center. This year, the Special Appeal will benefit Solebury School’s ArtDepartment.

Since our founding in 1925, Solebury School has been known for its strong art program. Solebury’sVisual Art faculty are professional artists and countless graduates have gone on to careers in theater,film, television, fine arts, music and art education. Your generosity will support this remarkableprogram!

The Special Appeal will help provide our students with new tables for drawing, painting and ceramics,improved storage for artwork in every room, current technology for editing digital video and speakersfor the Active Studio Board. A large utility sink will be installed in the Painting & Drawing Room.We intend to improve access with an awning for protection from the elements and better feature ourArt space with improved exterior signage.

If you attend the Auction, please donate during our Special Appeal, which will be featured during theLive Auction. If you’re not able to attend, you may make your contribution through the Auctionpage of Solebury’s website, www.solebury.org.

Solebury School is a 501(c)3 corporation and all Special Appeal contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest amount allowed by law.

Thank you for your generous support of Solebury School

2012-2013Solebury School Fall/Winter Magazine

EditorJennifer K. Burns

Director of Advancement

Associate Editor, MagazineBeverly Berkeley

Director of Communications

Associate Editor, Alma’sRenee LaPorte

Associate Director of Development

Design & ProductionEnForm Graphic Productions, Inc.

PhotographyBeverly Berkeley

Please send change of address to:Solebury School

6832 Phillips Mill Road, New Hope, PA 18938Phone: 215-862-5261

Fax: 215-862-3366E-mail: [email protected] Site: www.solebury.org

Copyright 2013 Solebury School

Board of Trustees 2012-2013Charles J. Abbe ’59 (CA) Chairman

Scott Bolenbaugh (PA) Vice ChairmanElizabeth Wavle (NJ) Treasurer

Alan Sheriff (PA) Secretary

Ezra Billinkoff ’03 (PA)David Christiansen (PA)

Dan Cohen ’63 (FL)Jonathan Downs ’71 (PA)

Barbara Fordyce (PA)Tom Hunt ’74 (NJ)

Stan Jablonowski (PA)Mary Beth Kineke (PA)

Ken Klimpel (NJ)Holly Mullin (PA)John Petito (PA)

Joan Reinthaler ’53 (DC)Mike Sienkiewicz ’56 (PA)

Anne C. (Annsi) Stephano ’58 (PA)Brett Webber ’85 (PA)

Navarrow Wright ’88 (NJ)

Head of SchoolThomas G. Wilschutz

HONORARY TRUSTEESBill Berkeley ’49

Chris Chandor ’60 Alan Donley ’55

Betsy Bidelman Meredith ’54 Richard Moss ’48

Hermann Platt ’54 Eric Shaw ’55 Jean Shaw ’53


Follow Solebury School Online:Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and the school’s YouTube channel,SoleburyUWatch.

Website: www.solebury.org

Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Solebury-School/191183385937

Twitter address: http://twitter.com/soleburyschool

YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/SoleburySchoolUWatch

Rollover and make a difference.

www.solebury.org

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other provisions, extends theIRA Charitable Rollover for 2013. The extension will allow individuals 70 ½and older to donate up to $100,000 from their IRAs tax-free. While donors donot receive an income tax charitable deduction, this provision does allow themto transfer (or “rollover”) money from their IRAs directly to 501(c)3organizations like Solebury, without recognizing the transfer as income. Theserollover contributions count toward an individual’s minimum requireddistribution for the year. Individuals should consult their tax advisorsregarding their specific situations.

Need more information or want to initiate a transfer for 2013? ContactJennifer K. Burns, Director of Advancement, at 215.862.5261, x183 [email protected]. For information on more ways to maximize your gift toSolebury, go to www.solebury.org/giving.

Scan this QR code with your smartphone to make youronline donation to Solebury School.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPhiladelphia, PA

Permit #85

6832 Phillips Mill RoadNew Hope, PA 18938-9682

Address service requested

This Magazine is printed on Forest Stewardship Councilcertified recycled paper using vegetable-based inks.

Solebury School Magazine - Fall/Winter 2012

Documents

Transcript of Solebury School Magazine - Fall/Winter 2012